Sports

Emirates to end sponsorship of Paris St Germain - report

November 09, 2018
In this file photo, Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) French forward Marie-Antoinette Katoto celebrates after scoring a goal during the women's French Cup final football match against Olympique Lyonnais (OL) at the Meinau stadium in Strasbourg. PSG are set to lose long-term sponsors Emirates after the Dubai based airline said that the company would not renew its contract which expires next year. — AFP
In this file photo, Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) French forward Marie-Antoinette Katoto celebrates after scoring a goal during the women's French Cup final football match against Olympique Lyonnais (OL) at the Meinau stadium in Strasbourg. PSG are set to lose long-term sponsors Emirates after the Dubai based airline said that the company would not renew its contract which expires next year. — AFP

LONDON — Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain are set to lose long-term sponsors Emirates after the Dubai based airline said that the company would not renew its contract, which expires next year, a media report has said.

Emirates has been a shirt sponsor of PSG since 2006, five years before the club was bought by Qatar Sports Investments, a state-backed body founded by the emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

PSG, one of the richest soccer teams in the world, are seeking a more lucrative sponsorship deal, a club spokesperson told Bloomberg. The current deal with Emirates is reported to be worth around 30 million euros ($34 million) a season.

Emirates and PSG did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The French club may be seeking more income to offset the record 222 million-euro transfer of Brazilian forward Neymar from Barcelona last year, which was followed by a deal for French teenager Kylian Mbappe worth a reported 180 million euros.

PSG were this week named in the 'Football Leaks' documents, which showed they had inflated sponsorship revenues to meet the requirements of European soccer body UEFA's rules on financial fair play (FFP).

The documents were obtained by the German publication Der Spiegel and reviewed by Reuters in partnership with European Investigative Collaborations, a consortium of international media.

UEFA's Club Financial Control Body announced in September it had reopened an investigation into whether PSG had flouted FFP regulations.

The United Arab Emirates was part of a quartet of Arab countries to place a trade and travel embargo on Qatar last year.

Emirates is also partnered with European champions Real Madrid, Premier League side Arsenal and AC Milan in Serie A. — Reuters


November 09, 2018
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